I wrote the Internet

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It's been a while since I did a comprehensive wrap-up of my contributions to the info-tapestry-net, so that should be remedied. I must say, I don't think I've ever been as satisfied with the books I've been able to cover. That is mostly because I don't think there has ever been a better, more diverse array of comics available in my lifetime. Of course, being a pretty normal comicbook reader means that the plurality of what I buy is superhero fare, but it's the other genre stuff that usually comes out the most exciting.

Also, the new WIBW has allowed me to give a little look at everything I get, which allows me to more fully develop my features for Newsarama. As a critic for a news' site, it's my obligation to cover the most important books of the market, and the ones that I feel would reacher greater success with greater attention. With WIBW, it is just an unapologetic take on my personal taste in comics, not always a barometer of quality. Long story short, WIBW is what I like. Best Shots' are things I think you would like.

Well, for the most part anyway. Kevin Smith is counter-culture god, and earned a rep as a Hollywood-type who legit loves comics. Most of the work he's done has been nothing short of top-notch. He swung that influence into a gig with his homeboy Walt Flanagan on Batman Cacophony, and you can see what I thought of it. As I posted the negative review, I couldn't help but think of MoviePoopShoot.com in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but this was an honest assesment on what I thought was really an underqualified artist. Others might disagree, but for me it just didn't ring right. Maybe it wasn't a case of weird comic-industry nepotism, but I just felt like there had to be other artists who would have killed for the chance to work with Kevin Smith that could have done a better job. But that's why critiques are subjective.

I really have little to no problem with renumbering, especially if it garners a cool aniversary like Thor #600. I've said it all before; I love Thor, and as such am predisposed towards loving things about Thor. It's funny, but I think only comicbook fans can understand how frustrating it is to have one's favorite character go unpublished and left by the wayside for years on end. Editorially, I understood the wisdom in both waiting for the right creative team to become available and for the best time to promote the book within the shared universe and the publishing line, but it still sucked. Actually, it is probably similar to how Cleveland Browns fans felt when the team skipped town. Only when Thor came back, the book was really good, so it all seemed worth it. Probably Browns fans don't feel that way.

Now, if I love Thor, there's a good chance I like vikings. I suspect Ivan Brandon knew this with Viking #1. Okay probably not. But I am psyched to see vikings growing as a genre. There's no reason to let Brian Wood have all the fun on Northlanders. As I've said, the whole book is just beautiful, and it seems to me like it will be the biggest breakout book at Image since Cassanova. I see that book going far.

I like Black Adam because he's a character that exists right between Namor and Dr. Doom. He's a villain with a god-complex, or a hero with a villain complex, or something. Anyway when DC did its villain month I was happy to see a Black Adam Faces of Evil. His tragedy is so effective because of its melodrama, making each storyline he stars in to an act in his great saga.

I don't know if I could have enjoyed any convergence of interests more than BOOM!'s The Muppet Show. I don't even know if I have anything more to say about it besides I snicker at each and every page. What more could a man ask for?

I loved Groom Lake as soon as I read it. Then I heard the Wordballoon interview with Ben Templesmith, where he shared that it was his choice to add the cigarrette smoking flourish to the IDW's brand of aliens. That, my friends, is comics' genius.

I was so impressed with the Messiah War Prologue I don't know what to do with myself. Do I have to go back and read Messiah Complex? Does this mean I have to buy 6 X-titles a month again? I feel dirty and confused.

I dug Killer of Demons, and then found out from artist Scott Wegener that the book was actually done a few years ago, only to be released now. Color me impressed, because to me Wegener's art there is just about as strong as his stuff on Atomic Robo.

Some sequels take forever, and Marvels: Eye of the Camera is no exception. Busiek is such a great writer of superheroes when he's on his game, and I think he is here.

I did some reporting from New York Comic-Con 2009 for Newsarama, covering panels for Dark Horse's Creepy and Aspen Comics. Both companies seemed to have some cool things up their sleeves.

Mark Waid writes superheroes well, which is why it is interesting when he decides to write villains, as in Irredeemable. I'm eager to see if Waid can live up to the promise of the strength of his concept, here.

With Muppets, Irredeemable, and even the Incredibles comic, BOOM! was rolling for me. Or it was until Cars: The Rookie. I don't know, maybe that property is just among Pixar's weaker forays, but I had a hard time coming up with reasons to tell someone else to read that comic. I actually hate giving negative reviews, because I know that almost no comics get made without some serious loving intent put into the process, but I also can't shirk from honest assesments. Maybe some kid out there will totally love the Cars movie, and this book will be his or her bridge into comics- I just don't see it.

Some books just need to exist on the fringes, and Destroyer and Haunted Tank are good examples of that. I got pwned on the Newsarama boards for not realizing that the Destroyer was actually an old Marvel character, which was embarrassing in a way that only a nerd could understand, but I think I'm over it. I had held off from doing a full HT review until the series had wrapped, because I was really curious about how the series would read from the wide angle. That turned out to be the right call, because I think in the end the finale was the best issue of the series, and like The Dude's rug, really brought it all together.

I wasn't sure what to expect out of Lovecraft, but that was what made it exciting. This was basically a structurally sound historical meta-fiction piece that set the man Howard Lovecraft in a Lovecraftian horror story, (which, come to think of it, is more succintly put than I ever managed to get in my review, alas...). I'm no expert in the ways of the Cthulu, but it was a well told comicbook, and that was enough for me.

Rarely have I been more excited and inspired by the first issue of a series than I was with Warren Ellis' Ignition City. Steampunk evolved into space-frontierism just seems like an idea that should have been there all along, and Ellis is casually introducing it to us. This guy just consistently challenges the boundaries of the comics' creative community, and ever once and a while he belts one out of the park to remind us.

I couldn't help but weigh in on the big farewell issue for Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham on Justice Society of America. And apparently I couldn't weigh in fast enough, because not only did I let a totally uncouth typo out on the first goddamn line, but I also had a total brain fart and created my own American in my mind named "Norman Rockafeller," who I can only assume mainstreamed iconic but propaganda like art designed to enslave suburban minds. Or maybe he's related to this guy. Anyway I loved the run by the creators, and I thought the issue was a fitting farewell. I was also pleased with review itself, which furthers my theory that better books make for better reviews. I totally invented that theory.

Finally, I was thrilled to spotlight MC Esoteric's Serve or Suffer album. As rewarding as it is to give my perspective on the biggest releases in comics each week, ultimately critque is only a small offering to contribute to the broader discourse. Spotlighting a local hip-hop artists' high concept Silver Age inspired album was an opportunity to clue in a large audience to something I knew they would have had no exposure to otherwise. Chances are, if you are reading my JSA review, you were already going to read the comic, but an average Newsarama reader isn't likely to be able to find hot tracks like Galactus Trilogy or Steve Rogers on his or her own. And if you're a Newsarama reader, you really want to know those songs. Believe me. In any case, I've never watched the traffic on a story so intently as I did on that one, and I really hope that it was able to connect with the people who needed to read it, because it was a cool treat for that not-so-rare someone that loves his comics as much as his iTunes.


And that's pretty much a wrap to date. Somewhere in the throes of these NBA playoffs, Bruins chase for the Cup, early part of the Red Sox season, and beginnings of Patriots training camp, I expect I'll have some thoughts longer than tweets to collect on my other great obsession. But only if I can avoid writing my own version of Bill Simmons articles, because now that he's on twitter, I'm not sure I'd be able to fly under the radar. Or something. I'm going to be smart from now on and link to my stories as they go up, because the more time I let pass before I do one of these, the more likely I am to totally forget to link to one, and thus lose it to the vast void of the Interspheres. And that shit won't fly.

Now, to close with a fun little ditty, here's the video Esoteric was kind enough to put together to better share his sound with the nerd-republic. Give it a listen and I guaran-goddamn-tee you'll be humming this shit all day.

What I Buy Wednesday: April 22nd 2009

Where Brendan's word is law. And also lawless.

It never fails- have a quiet week at the comic shop, and the next week will come on like gangbusters. To top it off, this week offered a diverse selection of all my favorite kinds of comics, and it's these kinds of weeks that make obsession worthwhile.

Viking #1 (Image): If nothing else, you should know that it takes very little for me to become interested in vikings. But even given that, I've been really hotly anticipating this book. And that was before all the “retailers got one look at this book and bought the shit out of it,” stuff started going down, and it was sent back to the printer, and held off from shipping. Seriously, this is a wicked smart idea, because there would be value lost in having a first printing ship, and then having a delayed second printing that some parts of readership might frown upon. Instead, by exercising a little patience, these guys poised themselves for success. Nevermind the fact that Nic Klein is some sort of super-artist, and that Ivan Brandon seems fatefully poised for a big year of comics-makery. This book is exactly the sort of thing that makes me excited about reading and talking about new comics. It also makes me profoundly jealous. Moving on...

Thor #601 (Marvel): So, yeah. Norse stuff. When JMS relaunched this title with Coipel I was impatient to shit. Thor had been off the map so long, all I wanted was for him to be reintroduced to the forefront of the Marvel U. I couldn't deny that the world-building approach taken to Asgard's relocation into Oklahoma was a better way to fully realize the character's world, but I still wanted Thor to, like, get into shit with the Avengers. 'Cause he's Thor. Instead, Marvel wisely waited until Secret Invasion to fully unveil the god of thunder to his peers, and immediately sat Loki at the table of Marvel's most dastardly douchebags. Now, finally, what happens to Thor matters to the MU at large, and vice-versa. Marko Djurdjevic is a great alternate for this book, and it is evident that his skill grows with each issue.

Detective Comics #853 (DC Comics): There's a pretty good chance I'm going to buy any book Andy Kubert draws, so when Neil Gaiman is playing type-master for that same title, I might as well buy it twice. As a fan, I've been disappointed by the lack of output by both Kubert brothers during their time as DC exclusives, just because it feels like so many missed opportunities. On the other hand, the two have both been afforded high-visibility, generally high-quality projects, on iconic characters, and one can't ask for much more than the most literate writer in comics directing your pencils. I thought the first part of this Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? two-parter was a little dense, but this one tied it all up nicely, and was totally satisfying. Gaiman tells stories about big ideas, and Kubert conveys crystal-clear story, so it is a complimentary match. Plus, these days you've gotta take the stories you can get about the real Batman where you fan find 'em.

Invincible #61(Image): I think Kirkman has given himself a real challenge to outdo any and all superhero comic competition each and every month within his single superhero title. Mark is somberly dealing with the bloody Aftermath of last issue's Invincible War, and the costs are steep. I don't know how Ottley and Kirkman manage to make this the most awesome book of superhero drama and fighting on the shelves every month, but they do. It simply keeps getting better and better.

Ignition City #2 of 5 (Avatar): I'll admit, I will sometimes only check out the first issue of a Warren Ellis miniseries, because I am more interested in finding out Ellis' hook than awaiting and seeing through the execution of an (often delayed) project. I usually end up catching up with the traded collection, because, well, that's how Ellis reads best. But I can't be patient with Ignition City. This book pushes my brain-buttons.

Amazing Spider-Man #592 (Marvel): Mike McKone illustrates, and I cheer. Mark Waid is an almost obvious addition to the Spider-team, and fits right in while telling a story that is clearly of his own creative mind. Waid has a good handle on J. Jonah Jameson's combative nature, and Spidey's playful one. Also- the last page? Eww.

John Constantine: Hellblazer #254 (Vertigo): Milligan writes a good Constantine, and has shown a knack for horror with the Scab arc. Next up- the Bubonic Plague. What the hell could be scarier than that?

X-Force #14 (Marvel): Messiah War continues to make an X-nerd out of me. There was a time when I took pride in my stature above the squabble and fray of frivolous comics like X-Men crossover books, or even worse, X-Men spinoff crossover books, but the creative team behind this Cable/ X-Force team-up has my number. I give up. You win. I'll buy it. Just promise to not have a shitty ending. Oh, who cares, I'll still want to check out the follow up. I suck.

Booster Gold #19 (DC Comics): Dan Jurgens just draws comics the way I think they should look. He kind of defines “convention,” to me, in that he is a clear, basically literal artist. And really, if anyone should be the one still drawing the 90's head-sock, hair-out-the-top look, it is Jurgens with Booster Gold. I'm not sure how long this title will last without a “name” writer like Geoff Johns onboard, but I honestly don't think the title has slipped with Dan Jurgens at the helm. I think Jurgens, Johns, and Jeff Katz really built this book into a machine that works, and that uses the character to his fullest, and I'm not bored yet. So here's to the semi-forgotten characters of yesteryear.

Elektra #2 of 5 (Marvel): I liked the first issue of this series more than I thought I would. I might've liked this one more. Judging from the last page, I think I'll like the next one even more.

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Marvels: Eye of the Camera #5 of 6 (Marvel): Kurt Busiek has a great intuition when it comes to really tying superheroes and zeitgeist, and this series is no exception. I was against doing this sequel without painter extraordinaire Alex Ross, but Jay Anacleto has really made this project his own, with a different sort of realism in his work.